(Updated, 5:00 p.m.) Employees at Union Kitchen in Ballston are looking to unionize, joining colleagues at other area locations.
The employees cite pay cuts, lack of sick leave, and staffing shortages among the reasons for organizing.
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local business
No Mardi Gras Parade Today — Clarendon will not be hosting a Mardi Gras parade this year. What was formerly an annual tradition remains on hold, perhaps permanently. The last parade was held in 2018.
Retail Rents Rising on the Pike — “Arlington economic-development officials say they will assist where possible, but in many cases, small-business owners wishing to stay in the corridor will have to do the hunting on their own… The arrival of Amazon not far down the road in the Pentagon City area is just one factor that is impacting rents in the Columbia Pike corridor, once known as a low-cost alternative to Arlington’s Metro corridors.” [Sun Gazette]
Local bars are planning St. Patrick’s Day events and preparing for crowds that area expected to be the largest in a couple of years.
After two years of Covid-related restrictions and muted St. Patrick’s Day festivities, management at several local Irish pubs tells ARLnow that they expect this year’s holiday on March 17 to be “mayhem.”
For the second time in less than a year, Olive Lebanese Eatery in Ballston is cleaning up broken glass after a break in.
On Tuesday night (Feb. 22) at about 9:15 p.m., according to the police report, a witness spotted a man attempting to break in through the front door of the restaurant at 1100 N. Glebe Road. At the same time, a security camera was also recording the burglary in progress.
Beyer’s Statement on Ukraine — From Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) last night: “Praying for the Ukrainian people tonight. America stands with Ukraine.” [Twitter]
HQ2 Phase 1 to Feature 14 Retailers — “JBG Smith also revealed Tuesday that it has identified and executed leases with 14 retailers set to open by the end of 2023 at Metropolitan Park, though it didn’t identify those brands. That’s a jump from what the real estate company had announced in November during a tour of the HQ2 site, at that time noting plans for between seven to 12 retailers on the ground floor. Two of those retailers have been announced: District Dogs and Rāko Coffee Roasters.” [Washington Business Journal]
Many small businesses in Arlington are hurting amid the pandemic, and that’s on top of some of the unique issues faced by Black and female business owners.
That was the topic of a pair of discussions held by Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) in Arlington on Friday (Feb. 4)
The pandemic has seen a rise in freelance and contract work from those looking for job flexibility.
What new freelancers may not know is that Arlington tax code says they need a permit to work from home and need to pay local business taxes, just like any other business or contractor.
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Police are investigating a pair of assaults in and across from Penrose Square along Columbia Pike.
The first happened around 8 p.m. Saturday at a Penrose Square business.
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(Updated at 5:40 p.m.) A community fundraising campaign is helping Green Valley’s New District Brewing Company purchase its own canning equipment.
Earlier this month, Arlington’s first production brewery in a century launched a campaign to raise $8,000 in order to partially pay for a canning line (equipment used to can). The equipment can cost about $23,000, so the initial plan was to cover the rest with a loan.
A man with what looked like a BB gun stole cash from the tip jar of a business in the Ballston area on Saturday afternoon, according to the Arlington County Police Department.
The robbery happened around 3:30 p.m. in the 1000 block of N. Glebe Road, yesterday’s ACPD crime report said.
A new Korean comfort food restaurant is coming to Rosslyn.
The local fast casual chain SeoulSpice is opening a new location in Rosslyn at 1735 N. Lynn Street, on the ground floor of the International Place office building. This will be the the company’s the first location in Virginia and its sixth location in the D.C. area, with the most recent opening in November in D.C.’s Penn Quarter neighborhood.
Hotel Redevelopment Plan Paused — “The redevelopment of one of Arlington’s oldest hotels looks to be on hold indefinitely, as the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic disrupt the hospitality-focused project. Grant Investment Properties is asking county planners for more time to complete its overhaul of Rosslyn’s old Best Western Iwo Jima, now known as the Red Lion Hotel Rosslyn Iwo Jima, at 1501 Arlington Boulevard. A site plan for the project projected that it would be finished by March 2022, but the Chicago-based firm filed papers last week to ask for an extension through March 2025.” [Washington Business Journal]
Proposed APS Changes Questioned — “Based on feedback from the Arlington School Board, the Arlington Public Schools system is focusing on what they call more equitable grading practices. The preliminary proposal calls for: No late penalties for homework… No extra credit… Unlimited redoes and retakes on assignment… No grading for homework.” [WJLA, Washington Post]